


an incredible spark

by avengerskye



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cheerleader!Hope, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Loner!Josie, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24729199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avengerskye/pseuds/avengerskye
Summary: Mystic Falls High welcomes two new students, the Saltzman twins.Hope Mikaelson is the head cheerleader of the school, the class president and a straight A student. Another little fact about Hope Mikaelson... She has a big crush on Josie Saltzman.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Josie Saltzman
Comments: 108
Kudos: 385
Collections: hosie legacies





	1. just a crush

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> Before you read this new fic, I really want you to read this.
> 
> Some of you may have read on tumblr that I put all of my fics on hold, if it's the case, well go ahead and read the chapter. For the others, well I won't be updating my other stories for a while. I decided to take a little break from them because I've struggled with them for a while now.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this new piece, and won't be too angry about me not updating the other fics.

"Your obsession with Josie Saltzman is making me uncomfortable Mikaelson." 

Hope's head snaps to her right where her eyes lands on her best friend, Maya. She's not surprised to see the teasing smile on her lips and the daring look in her eyes. Hope rolls her eyes and looks away as she keeps stretching herself.

"I am not obsessed with Josie Saltzman." She says through gritted-teeth, making her friend chuckle.

"Oh right, I forgot…" Maya says before letting out a loud dreamy sigh. "You just 'like the way her smile makes you feel'." The brunette gives a light slap to Hope's arm, making the auburn haired girl look at her again. "Ask her out weirdo!"

This time Hope glares at her best friend. "Stop it Maya."

"You're being ridiculous." Maya says. "Everyone in this school would die to date you, well except me because I actually know how annoying you are."

Hope sighs loudly, trying to remain calm. "She's been here for two weeks. I can't ask her out when I never even had a conversation with her!"

Maya rolls her eyes. "Then talk to her."

"I can't just go over to her and talk to her." Hope protests.

Maya opens her mouth again, but then a voice cuts her off. "Everyone in place, practice is starting!"

Hope is quick to walk over to where the other girls are already gathered for the practice, Maya following her closely. As soon as they stop walking, the brown haired girl leans close to Hope's ear.

"This is not over Mikaelson. You'll talk to this girl before the end of the week."

* * *

Hope spends the remaining of her week avoiding every plan Maya sets to make her talk to Josie Saltzman. It proves to be hard to avoid Maya's plans, and stare at Josie at the same time. 

She's not obsessed with the brunette though. 

No, she only has a tiny little crush on her. 

And that leads them to Wednesday. The day starts normally, except that her coach wants to see her before first class and she ends up late to said class. Thankfully, the woman gives her a late pass, but Hope still quickly heads to her class. So quickly in fact, that she ends up bumping into another student. The brunette girl she bumped into falls to the floor, and Hope's eyes quickly widen.

"I am so sorry." She blurts out as she kneels next to the girl.

A soft giggle escapes the brunette, and… it's Josie Saltzman.

"It's alright." Josie says before starting to gather her things that fell everywhere. "I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings, so it's my fault."

For a couple of seconds, Hope doesn't move. She's totally frozen. Then, when it registers to her brain that she's watching her crush gather her things because she knocked her over, Hope quickly tries to help the brunette. The Mikaelson girl manages to pick a book and a pen from the floor before Josie's done with picking everything up. 

The auburn haired girl lifts her head and meets Josie's soft brown eyes as she hands her her stuff. Her mind goes blank, and there's only one thing that comes to her mind.

"I'm Hope." 

Josie takes her things with a little smile, before putting them in her bag. "I know."

The Mikaelson girl frowns. "You do?"

Josie's little smile grows a little bigger. "Hope Mikaelson, head cheerleader, class president and straight A student." The brunette stands up, quickly followed by Hope. "My sister didn't want to come here unprepared, and of course she had to share her knowledge with me."

Hope lets a little chuckle escape her. "Lizzie, right?"

Josie nods, as she starts walking. "She's in your cheerleading team."

"I know." Hope answers as she walks by her side. 

As they keep walking, Hope silently observes Josie. The brunette is a little taller than her, and her hair is a little longer than what would be considered shoulder length.

"We're late to class." Josie says with a sigh.

"I have a late pass." The shorter girl says with a shrug. 

Josie turns her head to look at Hope and then sighs. "I don't."

"Oh…" Hope says, avoiding the brunette's eyes. "Why are you late? Well, except for the fact that I bumped into you?" 

Josie bites her lip, visibly hesitating to tell Hope the reason why she was late. The cheerleader immediately regrets asking, certain that it's enough to make Josie push her away.

"Something came up." The brunette says.

Hope nods. "Do you know where your class is?"

"I… think so." Josie says, but it sounds more like a question.

They make eye contact and Hope lifts a brow, making Josie laugh quietly.

"Okay, I don't know where it is exactly."

Hope's smile turns smug. "That's what I thought. Give me your schedule, and I'll walk you to your class."

"No, I can't let you do that!" Josie says after she shakes her head. "You're late to class too."

"Well, I have a late pass. It doesn't matter if I get to class a little more late than I already am." Hope is quick to explain. "Plus… It will help your cause. If I walk you to class, we can say you got lost and that I helped. This way you avoid detention."

Josie doesn't say nothing to that, but Hope can feel the brown eyes on her. Slowly, she turns her head and looks Josie in the eyes. There's something quite mysterious in the Saltzman girl's eyes. Something that looks a lot like lingering sadness. Just as this thought crosses Hope's mind, Josie gives her a small smile before looking ahead of herself once more.

"Okay, let's do that." She stops walking, and gets her schedule out of her bag before handing it to Hope. Josie watches silently as Hope takes the piece of paper and looks at it. "Thank you, Hope."

Blue eyes quickly leave the paper in Hope's hands. They meet soft brown eyes only for a second before the Mikaelson girl forces herself to look away. She can feel the heat in her cheeks, and curses herself for being a blushing mess for a simple "thank you". 

Hope swallows hard. "Uh, no problem. Your class is on the second floor, follow me."

It takes them less than two minutes to find the classroom, and Hope is the one to knock on the door when they get there. She sweetly explains the situation to Josie's teacher, and the woman accepts it with a smile. The brunette walks into the classroom, but not without glancing one last time at Hope over her shoulder. When their eyes meet again, Hope lifts her hand and does a lame wave. Josie chuckles, but still waves back.

Hope spends the whole walk to her own classroom repeating a single word inside her head.

_ Stupid _ .

* * *

It doesn't take long before Josie and Hope meet again. It happens the next day at lunch. Hope is walking towards her usual table with her tray of food in hands while talking to Maya, when someone bumps her shoulder. The auburn haired girl almost drops her tray, but she manages to keep it from falling. The person who bumped into her quickly turns around to apologize, but stops when their eyes meet. 

"We have to stop meeting like this." Hope playfully says. 

The slight panic on Josie's face leaves place to the little smile Hope received a couple of times the day before, shy but happy. 

"It's my fault again, sorry." Josie says before trying to get passed Hope.

The shorter girl frowns at the brunette's quick attempts to exit their conversation. Without missing a beat, Hope gives her tray of food to Maya and follows Josie. 

"Wait! Josie, where are you going?" Hope asks when she finally catches up to the brunette.

Josie turns her head to look at Hope, but she doesn't stop walking. "I'm gonna eat in the library."

"People eat in the library?" Hope asks, confusion written all over her face. 

The brunette slows down her pace with a giggle. "Yes, Hope, people eat in the library." She pauses. "Well, not a lot of them… But some do."

"Why do  _ you _ eat there?" 

The question makes Josie stops abruptly, resulting in Hope walking a couple of steps ahead of the brunette. The Mikaelson girl is quick to turn around though, and soon enough she's facing Josie. There's a guarded expression on the brunette's face, an expression Hope has seen the day before when she asked Josie why she was late to class. 

"It's quiet." The Saltzman girl finally drops. "Plus, I don't know a lot of people here so…"

"What about your sister? She already made friends, you could join them."

Josie's smile gets sadder. "I don't wanna intrude. The library's fine."

Then, the taller girl starts walking again, but this time Hope starts walking too and they're side by side.

"What about me? You could join me and my friends."

Josie sighs. "I don't wanna be your charity case Hope."

"Wha-"

"Drop it." The brunette snaps.

This time, when Josie walks away, Hope doesn't follow. 

* * *

Rumours starts to spread on Monday morning that the Saltzman twins moved to Mystic Falls because something happened at their old school. No one seems to know where the rumour comes from, or even what exactly happened for them to move, but the simple rumour is enough to make everyone talk about it. 

The Saltzman twins act as if they hear nothing. Lizzie is still Lizzie, doing her best to gain popularity in her new school. As for Josie, Hope doesn't see her. The Mikaelson girl even goes to the library at lunch in hopes to catch the brunette, but she's nowhere to be seen.

That night, Hope looks at the ceiling of her bedroom way more than she sleeps. She wonders just what happened at the twins' old school, and why Josie's avoiding most questions or being very vague with her answers. Maybe the Saltzman twins were really hiding something...

* * *

During cheerleading practice on tuesday the Mikaelson girl spots the brunette sitting on the bleachers. Hope assumes Josie's waiting for Lizzie to finish her practice so they can go home together. To say she's distracted during practice that day would be an understatement. She steals glances at the brunette everytime she can, and Josie never catches her, too absorbed by her homework to notice Hope. 

The auburn haired girl waits until practice is over, makes sure every girl of the team - including Lizzie Saltzman - goes into the locker room, and then she walks over to Josie. When she's close enough, Hope clears her throat to catch the brunette's attention. Josie's head snaps up, and she seems genuinely surprised to see Hope there.

"Uh, hi." Hope says with her best smile. 

Josie smiles back and a wave of relief hits Hope. "Hi."

"I wanted to apologize about last week." The cheerleader says as she takes a seat next to the other girl. "I was pushy and that was not okay. I'm sorry."

Josie looks at her without saying anything for a while. For a moment, Hope wonders what she's looking for, but then the brunette starts packing her stuff, interrupting Hope's train of thoughts. 

She screwed up. Again. 

Josie's leaving. Again.

"Thank you, but I should be the one apologizing." Josie puts the straps of her backpack on her shoulders. "I was really rude to you, I'm sorry."

"Can we… clear the slate and start over?"

The brunette looks at Hope with playful eyes, and then she extends her hand for Hope to shake it.

"Hi, I'm Josie."

Hope smiles, ready to play Josie's game, when a voice snaps them both back to reality. 

"What's going on here?" 

Hope and Josie both look at the intruder. Josie's smile falters a little when she catches sight of her twin looking at her with a disapproving look, and it makes Hope frown.

The head cheerleader doesn't really know Lizzie Saltzman. Sure they're in the same team, but they never really talked to each other before. So, the Mikaelson girl is a little confused as to why Lizzie looks at her with so much disdain.

Josie sighs, sends a sorry look to Hope and then stands up.

"Nothing. Let's just go home, okay?" Josie glances back at Hope. "Bye Hope."

Without waiting for Lizzie or Hope to reply, Josie starts to walk away. Her twin quickly follows her, but not without sending one last angry look at the Mikaelson girl. 

Hope is left wondering what actually just happened. 

* * *

"Josie, wait up!"

The brunette turns around and stops when her eyes land on Hope. The Mikaelson girl's smile immediately puts one on Josie's lips.

"Hi, I didn't get your name last time." The brunette playfully says.

Hope rolls her eyes, but she still decides to play along since she couldn't the day before.

"Hi, I'm Hope."

This time, it's Hope who offers her hand for Josie to shake. The brunette smiles a little wider as she sees the shorter girl play along with her. They shake hands for a little longer than they normally would, but neither of them mentions it.

Josie chuckles as she looks away from Hope and back ahead. Putting her hands back on the straps of her backpack.

"What can I do for you Hope?"

"I just wanted to ask if you're coming to Friday's game?"

The auburn haired girl watches as her question seems to shake Josie up. The brunette tightens her hold on the straps of her backpack. 

"I-I don't know. I don't think so."

"Oh, okay." The cheerleader answers, doing her best to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Hope takes a couple of seconds to compose herself and gather the courage to still ask her next question.

"Maybe… maybe you'd still like to come to the after party though? I'm hosting it this week."

"Oh, uh, I'm not sur-"

"Josie? Sweetie, you made a friend?"

Both girls turn their heads to look at a blonde woman who looks a lot like Lizzie. The woman gets closer and puts an arm around Josie's shoulders. Then, she turns her attention back to Hope.

"Uh, I guess, yeah." Josie answers as she looks down, avoiding Hope's eyes at all cost. "This is Hope. Hope, this is my mom."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Saltzman." Hope says as offers her hand to the woman to shake it.

"It's Forbes actually, but please call me Caroline." She says as she shakes Hope's hand.

The auburn haired girl smiles. "Caroline, then."

From the corner of her eyes, Hope sees a familiar car pull into the parking lot of the school.

"My mom is here to pick me up." She quickly says as she sets her eyes back on Josie. "I hope to see you on Friday night. Just ask your sister where it is, she already knows. Bye Josie, bye Caroline."

With one last smile, Hope starts to head to her mother's car, but not without glancing back at the brunette. She's surprised to actually make eye contact with Josie, but it only makes her smile wider. She waves, and she's pretty sure she can see a light blush on the brunette's cheeks as she waves back. 


	2. the party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to That_flemis_22... this chapter wouldn't be the same without his help!!

"Mom… Do you think I should go to this party on Friday?" Josie asks as she plays with the vegetables on her plate. 

Lizzie abruptly stops eating. "The one Hope Mikaelson is hosting?" 

Josie nods, her eyes always glued to her plate.

"You've been invited?"

Josie nods again. 

"I don't think you should go." Lizzie says, looking back at her own plate.

"Elizabeth!" Caroline scolds the blonde twin before looking at Josie. "I think you should go sweetie. It would help you, it's a good opportunity to blend in."

Lizzie scoffs. "We all know what happened the last time she blended in."

"Elizabeth, it's enough. Have you heard yourself?!" Caroline yells. "Go to your room. Now!"

Lizzie rolls her eyes, and releases a frustrated sigh before storming out of the dining room. The whole time, Josie has her eyes closed tightly in an effort to block out what is happening. When Lizzie's gone, the room falls silent again until the brunette hears her mother sigh loudly. Not long after, Josie feels Caroline hug her from behind. 

"I don't get why she's so mad at me… I'm the one who got hurt, not her."

The woman sighs. "You're right, sweetie. I'll have a talk with her tonight, and try to put some sense into her, 'cause I can't believe she doesn't see she's hurting you."

A little sad smile appears on Josie's face. She opens her eyes and slowly looks up at her mother. Caroline breaks the embrace slowly and then gently pushes some strands of hair out of her daughter's face. The sad look in Josie's eyes seemed to be permanent lately, and it's breaking Caroline's heart. If only she could take the pain of her daughter away with some magic trick. 

"Listen to me Josie…" The blonde woman says with a smile. "On Friday, you're gonna go to this party and you're gonna have fun. Make friends, dance, laugh… Live again sweetie."

The brunette forces a smile. She needs to comfort her mother somehow, even if she doesn't believe it herself.

"Okay."

* * *

When the car stops in front of Hope's house, Josie feels like she's gonna be sick. She sees teenagers everywhere… On the front yard, in the house, in the backyard. She tears her eyes away from the house and looks ahead of herself. The brunette is alone in the car with her mother. Lizzie took a ride with some other cheerleaders to go from the game to Hope's house. 

"Can we go back home?" Josie asks, her voice so small Caroline barely hears her.

Caroline gives her daughter a smile. "No sweetie, you need to spend time with people your age. Spending your Friday night playing Scrabble with your mom is sad."

"It's safe." Josie says firmly.

The woman sighs. "Okay, let's make a deal. You go in, try your very best to have fun, and if in… an hour you're still not feeling it, I'm gonna come back and pick you up."

"How about… 30 minutes?" Josie tries to negotiate.

"An hour." Caroline says back with a light chuckle.

"Fine! An hour, but you don't ask any question when I ask you to pick me up."

" _ If _ you ask me to pick you up." 

The teasing smile on her mother's face makes Josie roll her eyes, but it's more playful than annoyed. The brunette unbuckles her seatbelt and looks at the front yard. She glances one last time at her mother before opening the door and stepping out of the car. 

"Good night sweetie!" Caroline calls out.

Josie knows every other teenager would be mortified if they were her, but she just can't bring herself to feel this way when Caroline looks so happy and hopeful. Instead, Josie turns around and gives a wave and a small smile to her mother as she's walking to the front door of the house. 

As soon as she walks in, Josie feels a little overwhelmed by the loud music and screaming teens. She recognizes some people as she wanders around the house, and she's pleasantly surprised when some of them greet her. The brunette tries to find Hope, the only person she had a real conversation with at her new school, but the head cheerleader is nowhere to be found. In her quest to look for Hope, Josie ends up in the backyard. Just as she makes eyes contact with the auburn haired girl, a boy blocks her view.

"You're Josie Saltzman, right? Lizzie's sister?" The dark-skinned boy asks with a big smile.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Josie says, trying her best to smile. "And you are…"

"Milton Greasley, but my friends call me MG." The boy says as he casually puts an arm around Josie's shoulders and guides her back inside.

The brunette tries to look back at Hope, but when her eyes land on the spot where the Mikaelson girl was a few seconds ago, she's no longer there. Josie lets out a little sigh, and just follows MG's lead.

"So, I've been meaning to introduce myself." The boy says. "The past few weeks have just been so crazy, you know?"

Josie spends the next hour or so listening to MG rant about cheerleading, her twin and the game she didn't attend. The boy moves them around a lot, introduces her to lots of people. She sees Hope around a couple of times, but they're never close enough to talk. So the brunette follows MG around, she even has a good time talking to him and his endless stream of friends.

Well, she's having a good time until…

"Truth of dare!" A boy from the football team calls out. "Everyone gather around!"

Josie's blood runs cold. Her whole body freezes and this time, when MG tries to pull her with him, she resists. A game of truth or dare really sounds like her worst nightmare right now. As smoothly as she can, Josie exits the room. 

At first, she thinks about just getting out of here. It's been more than an hour, she could just call her mom and Caroline wouldn't ask questions. But then… She didn't even get to say "hi" to Hope, and it would be rude to leave without greeting her host. 

So instead of leaving, Josie finds herself wandering around the house. She comes across pictures of little Hope, family pictures, pictures of Hope with friends… She passes some rooms where people are making out, and almost stops to go to the bathroom, until she sees two boys in a compromising position. 

It's a little after the bathroom incident that she comes across some stairs. There's little green lights on both walls, all the way up to a door. Josie looks at the lights, the stairs and the door for a long moment, wondering just why it all seems so mysterious to her.

"My art studio is up there." 

Josie jumps as soon as she hears the voice coming from behind her. She turns around, and for the hundreth time that night, she meets Hope's blue eyes. 

"You're not the type to play truth or dare, uh?" The Mikaelson girl says with a raised eyebrow.

The brunette gives Hope a nervous smile. "I, uh-"

"It's okay Josie, don't be so nervous." 

Hope moves around Josie, their eyes never leaving each other. Then, she takes the first step upstairs and looks back at the brunette.

"Come on, I'll show you." She says with a smile. 

"Aren't people gonna look for you?" Josie says, but still takes the first step too.

"Who cares?" Hope's smile gets bigger before she starts walking upstairs again. "Come on! I'm sure you'll love this room."

Josie only hesitates a second before following the auburn haired girl upstairs. She patiently waits as Hope unlocks the door of the art room. They walk inside, and just as she's about to comment on how beautiful it is, there is complete silence in the room. Josie gets really confused and turns around, Hope is looking back at her with a little smile.

"This room is soundproof." The Mikaelson girl explains quickly. "I thought you'd like it."

"H-Hope… are you kidding me?" The Saltzman girl asks in disbelief. "This room... it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen!"

The auburn haired girl's smile doesn't leave her face as she walks closer to the brunette. When Josie judges that Hope is close enough, she crosses her arms and tries to subtly take a step back. Hope watches closely as Josie moves, curious as to why the brunette looks so guarded. 

"My father showed me how to paint when I was a kid, and it stuck." Hope decides to share. "I come here whenever I need some alone time."

"So, you're an artist?" Josie says, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

Hope rolls her eyes, but her smile never leaves her face. "Your judgment is wounding me Saltzman."

The brunette blushes and looks down. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Hope says, then she points to a little couch on the right side of the room. "Sit there, I wanna show you something else."

This time, Josie doesn't hesitate to do as she's told. She watches as Hope grabs a remote from the wall and then walks to the couch. 

"Can I sit next to you?" Hope asks.

Josie nods, and it's all it takes for the cheerleader to take a seat. As soon as Hope sits down, the brunette feels her overwhelming presence. Their sides are pressed together from their shoulders to their legs, and Hope's perfume is all Josie can smell. Hope doesn't seem to be bothered at all though, the auburn haired girl even turn around to look at the brunette. Josie quickly avoids Hope's eyes, their faces would have been way too close.

"I'm gonna incline the couch so we can look at the ceiling more easily." The Mikaelson girl warns Josie.

Soon enough, they're both laying with their heads towards the ceiling. Josie wonders why Hope is making them stare at a grey ceiling, but then the cheerleader press a button on the remote in her hand and something wonderful happens. The ceiling seems to open up, leaving place to the night sky.

Hope looks at Josie, and a small smile stretches her lips as she sees wonder fill the brown eyes of her crush. Then, she looks back at the sky, letting herself get lost in the stars.

"This room is a mix of both my parents." Hope softly says. "The art is my father, and the stars are my mother."

Josie turns her head to look at Hope, but the shorter girl doesn't look at her. The Saltzman is basically dying of curiosity, but she won't ask. She already allowed herself to get so much closer to Hope than she initially intended to. 

"I know a thing or two about stars." Josie says.

Hope turns her head quickly, making Josie's heart skip a beat. There's a glint in those blue eyes, a glint Josie has seen before but that she can't seem to identify. They look at each other for a couple of seconds, and the brunette could swear Hope's eyes flicker to her lips a couple of times. 

Quickly, Josie turns her head back to the sky, inhaling deeply in the process.

"I think I remember how to find a constellation or two."

The Saltzman girl can feel Hope's eyes lingering on her face, but she doesn't make a move to look back at the cheerleader. After a couple of seconds, Hope looks back at the stars too, abandoning the idea that Josie would look back. 

"Impress me." Hope playfully says.

Josie manages to find The Great Bear quite easily. Hope doesn't say a thing about it being the easiest one to find, instead she smiles, and even giggles a little. Then, it's Hope's turn to impress the brunette. Josie listens to the cheerleader as she shows her some stars, and gives her little facts about space. 

Neither of them could tell how much time they spend looking at the sky, pressed together on the couch, but it's enough time for Josie to let her guards down. Hope notices that the brunette's smile looks more easy, and her demeanor shifts. She no longer avoids eye contact, or shy away from the smallest touch. She even leans closer to Hope when the cheerleader shows her a particularly hard to find constellation.

Hope thinks about making a move. At first, she thinks about kissing Josie, but then pushes the idea away. It would be too soon. Her next idea seems more reasonable. Taking the taller girl's hand in hers sounds just as good as kissing her. However, just as she works up the courage to reach for Josie's hand, the brunette's phone rings.

Suddenly, Josie's guards are back on and she avoids Hope's eyes again. The cheerleader sighs as she watches the Saltzman girl pick up the phone.

"Hi Lizzie."

Josie can feel Hope's eyes on her through the whole conversation. She's a little self-conscious under the auburn haired girl's gaze, it just feels so intense. 

As soon as she hangs up, Josie stands up and looks down at Hope.

"I should go back home."

Hope quickly gets on her feet. "What? Why? It's still so early, we could-"

"I have to go." Josie cuts her off. "Thank you for inviting me, and showing me this room." 

Hope's face falls in defeat. The brunette watches as the shorter girl nods with a forced smile before moving to the door. Josie swallows the lump in her throat, as she follows Hope. The Mikaelson girl opens the door, and makes a hand motion to show Josie she can walk out.

Just as Josie is about to do that, she stops and turns her head to Hope. Their eyes meet, and the cheerleader gives her a confused look. The brunette opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. She shakes her head, and quickly walks down the stairs, but she's closely followed by Hope.

"Josie! Wait…"

Lizzie appears at the bottom of the stairs, making Hope shut her mouth instantly. The blonde girl looks mad, like seriously mad. 

"Lizzie-"

"What were you doing alone with her Jo?" Lizzie asks, her voice filled with venom.

"It's not what you think." Josie quickly says. 

"We're going home." 

Hope helplessly watches as Lizzie grabs her sister's forearm and drags her out of the house. Maya appears by Hope's side, a confused frown on her face.

"What happened?" The brunette asks.

"I have no idea."

* * *

"I can't believe you're doing this again!" Lizzie hisses.

Josie glares at her sister. "I'm not doing anything wrong."

The blonde twin returns her sister's glare as they're both standing in the middle of Josie's room. The brunette has her arms crossed, and she does her best to appear stronger than she is. Her sister's words are cutting through her like a knife, and it's been like this for months. She just wishes she could shake Lizzie and make her understand that what happened at their old school was not her fault.

"You're not doing anything wrong? What do you call being alone with Hope then?" Lizzie angrily spits. "Stay away from her, she's no good for you." The blonde closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I swear Josie… If you ruin everything again-"

"Ruin everything? Are you serious right now?" Josie yells, her eyes suddenly filled with angry tears. "Are you really that selfish? You had to change schools, big deal! I got humiliated, got my heart broken. Yet, you still manage to make it all about you."

"Wh-" Lizzie tries to defend herself.

"No. You don't get to talk right now." The brunette says as she walks closer to her sister. "In fact, unless you apologize, don't talk to me at all." 

Lizzie tightens her jaw and holds Josie's gaze, never opening her mouth to apologize. The brunette twin walks to her door and opens it, angry tears now falling on her cheeks.

"Get out." She says through gritted-teeth.

Lizzie huffs and walks out, but not without sending a death glare to her twin. When the blonde is out, Josie slams the door behind her. She starts sobbing as she leans her back against the door and slides down until she's sitting on the floor. 

After a couple of minutes of hearing Josie's cries, Lizzie can't take it anymore. She knows she let anger take over and said some things she shouldn't have said. She's about to go knock on Josie's door, but then her mother walks into her room. Caroline glares at Lizzie, making her understand she seriously fucked up.

"How could you do this?"

"You know how I get…" Lizzie says with sighs, looking down in shame. "I-I didn't mean everything I said." 

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know, okay!" Lizzie lifts her hands up in frustration. "She hates me, and she has every right to. I don't know how to make this right mom."

Caroline shakes her head. "Well, you better figure it out sweetheart. In the meantime, give her some space."

The blonde woman leaves a soft kiss to her daughter's head before walking out of the room, and going to her brunette daughter's room. Josie's sobs have gone quiet now, but Caroline knows her daughter must still be crying. She knocks on the door softly.

"Sweetie, please let me in." 

Josie sniffles, wipes her tears as best as she can and then stands up. She opens the door, and tries her best to give her mother a smile, but as soon as she meets Caroline's eyes, Josie starts to cry again. 

That night, Josie falls asleep in her mother's arms, her cheeks stained with tears. Caroline never stops rubbing her daughter's back as she cries herself to sleep. 


	3. the rumor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> It's been a long time... sorry?

Hope walks into the cafeteria on Monday with a frown. She sits down in front of Maya, letting out a loud sigh, attracting the attention of all of her friends. Her best friend looks at her with a confused frown.

"What's bothering you?" Maya asks, sounding almost bored.

Hope rolls her eyes at her friend's lack of empathy. "Wow, thanks for caring Maya."

"Just spill Mikaelson."

"So, after the little moment I shared with Josie on Friday night, I thought it would be acceptable for me to look up her social medias-"

Kaleb stops eating and interrupts her. "You've been crushing on the girl for three weeks now and you didn't look her up online before that?"

Kym hits her brother with a glare, and Hope glares at the boy too, but a faint blush still appears on her cheeks.

"No, Kaleb, I didn't. I thought it would be rude…" She says, then clears her throat before she keeps speaking. "Anyway… She doesn't have any."

Maya, Ethan, Kaleb and Kym all look at the head cheeleader like she's totally crazy. 

"Maybe you just didn't find her accounts." Ethan says suddenly. "Some people don't use their real name, you know?"

"No, Ethan." Hope shakes her head. "She's nonexistent online. I looked through every app, and tried to look in Lizzie's accounts to find her… Hell, I even looked at her mother's Facebook page."

"Well, maybe-" Maya starts.

Kym quickly interrupts her. "She's coming our way!"

Hope's head quickly turns in the direction Kym is looking, her eyes immediately falling on her crush. However, her eyes grow big when she sees just how furious Josie looks as she's speed-walking to their table. Hope stands up, and moves around the table to meet the brunette, quickly getting worried.

"Hey Jo, what's wro-" The cheerleader nervously starts.

"You know, for a moment, I really thought you were different." Josie spits, cutting Hope off. "I should have known you're just like every other popular kid... Just a pathetic HBIC."

At this point, no one is talking in the cafeteria. The hundreds of students sitting down to have lunch are completely silent. Everyone is stunned by the scene they are witnessing since Hope Mikaelson has never been at the center of a scandal before. 

Hope can't hide the surprise and the hurt she feels as she hears the words Josie says to her. She doesn't really understand what is happening, but the fire in those brown eyes tells her that it's not a small thing. Hope can't seem to say anything though, she just looks Josie in the eyes, words getting stuck in her throat. The Mikaelson girl realizes she stayed silent for too long when the brunette sends her a look that could kill before turning around and leaving the cafeteria. 

As soon as Josie's gone, the whispers start. Hope seems to unfreeze, and she quickly turns to her friends with a distressed look. She has no idea of what to do now.

"Run after her, idiot!" Maya says.

In that moment, Hope is really grateful her best friend is always there to knock some sense into her, even if it's sometimes brutal. Maya's words shake the cheerleader, and soon enough she's running out of the cafeteria under the eyes of all the very curious students of Mystic Falls High. 

She ends up in the hallway leading to the lockers, but Josie's nowhere to be seen. Hope wonders how the brunette managed to walk away so fast, but she quickly pushes that thought away.

She needs to find Josie.

The cheerleader runs to the library. Her heart skips a beat when she catches sight of Josie. The brunette is walking with determined steps towards the library, her eyes on the floor. Hope feels a slight pain in her chest as she sees the beautiful girl who's been clouding her thoughts doing everything in her power to look as small as possible. 

Hope runs even more fast than she already was, and manages to catch up with Josie. She stands in front of the Saltzman girl just before she can reach for the door of the library. Josie quickly looks up and her eyes grow cold when she sees Hope, making the auburn haired girl even more confused.

"Can you please explain to me what was that all about?" Hope asks, careful to keep her voice quiet as there are students around them.

"As if you don't know." Josie says back.

"I don't."

Josie rolls her eyes, as if to say she's heard enough. She pushes past Hope, bumping the cheerleader's shoulder roughly as she does so. Hope closes her eyes at the impact, and breathes deeply to gather the strength to try again. Because she has to try again. They can't just stop talking like that. She needs to know why Josie's so angry with her. The Mikaelson girl quickly turns around and follows the brunette inside the library .  Soon enough she's blocking Josie's way again. 

"I don't know what I did wrong, but please let me fix it." Hope insists, pleading blue eyes meeting brown ones.

Josie holds eye contact with Hope for a couple of seconds before she looks away. Her eyes go to the ground and she takes a step back, seemingly retreating.

"Josie…" Hope speaks up again. "Talk to me…" Her voice sounds small, hurt even, and Josie can't help but look right back into her ocean blue eyes. "Please." 

The Saltzman girl looks around, and sees that they're already gaining a lot of attention again. Josie reaches for Hope, and at first she thinks about taking her hand but that seems too… Intimate, so instead she gently takes the girl's wrist. The brunette walks to the biography section of the library. She learned it was the most unused part of the room on her first week at Mystic Falls High.

Josie's not surprised by the confused look on Hope's face when they get there. The auburn haired girl looks around with a cute little frown, and it almost makes Josie smile… Almost.

"You really have no idea why I'm mad at you?" The brunette asks, crossing her arms and avoiding Hope's eyes again.

Hope shakes her head. "None at all." She pauses. "I actually thought we were good after Friday night." Hope pauses again, gathering the courage to ask the question on her mind. "Does it have something to do with your sister dragging you away? Did I do something wrong?"

Josie's eyes snap up and suddenly they're looking into each other's eyes again. The brunette has to admit Hope does look genuine. The auburn haired girl's eyes are literally pleading her to just talk, to just explain.

"I talked with Alyssa Chang this morning." Josie's grip on her own arms seems to tighten. "Well, she talked. Sh-she said that she heard we had 'fun' on Friday night…"

Hope's eyes widen as the brunette's words sink in. Her confusion quickly leaves place to anger, but she's not surprised. Knowing where it comes from, she really can't be. She should have expected it. The need to defend herself arises, and if she's a little hurt that the brunette would believe something like that, she decides to not dwell on that.

"I'd never spread rumors like that." Hope says, then she sighs. "Josie… Alyssa Chang likes to mess with people. You were probably just her target of the week."

Josie looks down again for a moment. Hope watches as the she plays with the straps of her backpack, clearly thinking about what she's just been told. Then the brunette looks back up and Hope's heart skips a beat, waiting to know what Josie will say.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you in the cafeteria." The Saltzman girl says quietly. "I'm just… I can't have this happening to me, okay?"

Josie's voice shakes as she says her last sentence, making Hope wonder what happened to her once more. 

"I'll clear this up, I promise." Hope rushes to say. 

Josie nods. "Thank you." Then a soft, yet awkward smile slowly appears on her lips. "I'm sorry I said you were a pathetic HBIC." 

Hope smirks. "I definitely wasn't expecting that."

The cheerleader almost immediately regrets her words. Josie looks down, guilt written all over her face once again. Hope tries to think quickly, she needs to find something to change the subject and make Josie feel comfortable with her again. 

"Where do you usually eat?" Hope tries as she looks around the library.

"Here." Josie simply answers.

The Mikaelson girl frowns, not really understanding. "What do you mean?"

"I eat here." Josie says with a shrug. "I sit on the ground in the biography section and eat. It's the most quiet place in the library. No one comes here."

"Oh." 

Hope is a little shook by Josie's answer. She never thought that people actually ate in the library, sitting alone and on the ground of the biography section. Hearing that any student felt like they had to do that would hurt Hope, but thinking  _ Josie  _ feels the need to do that? It breaks her heart in pieces. Sweet and shy Josie Saltzman whose eyes sparkled when they watched the stars together surely doesn't deserve this.

"Could I join you today?" The cheerleader tentatively asks. 

"Oh… Yeah?" Josie says, surprise in her voice. "Do you have a packed lunch? Because you can't take the cafeteria food here."

"I don't." Hope sighs. 

"Well… maybe we could share mine?" Josie suggests as she gets her backpack off of her shoulders.

"What? No! I'll… uh-"

Josie interrupts her with a smile. "Come on… How could you turn down a vegan wrap I made myself?"

Josie's smile is contagious, because soon enough Hope is smiling back. 

"You're right… I can't say no to that."

Josie sits down on the ground and Hope quickly follows her. The auburn haired girl sits down right in front of the brunette, and their knees almost touching since the alley isn't that large. Hope looks at both end of the alley, but she sees no one. It's the last section of the library, and it's a little dark since some lights seem to have burned out. 

"So… No one never comes here?" Hope asks.

She wipes her hands on her jeans, suddenly well aware of how clammy they are. Being with Josie gets her so nervous, she just can't help it. Even after the scene Josie made a couple of minutes ago, Hope can't bring herself to be mad at the brunette. She's just that much of a goner already .

"It's always empty." Josie says as she gets the food out of her bag. "I've been eating here since my first day at this school, and I never saw someone here."

The Saltzman girl ends her last sentence as she hands Hope a wrap. The cheerleader quickly thanks Josie and take the offered food. Hope takes the wrapping off and looks at the wrap. She never had a vegan wrap before, and it must show on her face because suddenly Josie is laughing.

"I can tell you what's in it if you want." The brunette offers. 

Hope gives her an awkward smile. "Uh… please?"

"Hummus, avocado, green lettuce, tomato slices and cucumber slices."

The auburn haired girl nods, and looks back at the wrap still in her hands.

"You don't have to eat it if you don't want to." Josie quickly says. "You still have time to go back to-"

"No!"

Hope quickly takes a bites of the wrap to make a point. She's pleasantly surprised by all the flavors that invade her mouth. She chews slowly, trying to taste everything she can. Without thinking about it, she takes another bite. Then, Hope looks at Josie again. The brunette is expectantly looking at her, biting her lip as she waits for the Mikaelson girl's review. 

Hope swallows the food in her mouth. "It's so good."

The bright smile that her praise puts on Josie's smile is so beautiful that it makes Hope freeze.

"Yeah? Because I wasn't sure…"

The rest of Josie's sentence is unheard. Hope is so lost in her own thoughts that she can't bring herself to listen. She just sits there, holding her wrap and looking at Josie talking. She wonders how a girl as beautiful and kind as Josie can be so shy and closed off. 

"Hope? Are you okay?" The Saltzman girl asks as she waves a hand in front of the cheerleader's face.

"Uh?" Hope dumbly lets out.

Josie bites her lip. "You… zoned out."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't be." The brunette says with a little smile as she looks down, and away from Hope. "I tend to talk a lot sometimes."

"You must be joking, right?" Hope says, keeping herself from laughing. "You're so quiet all the time... so shy."

Josie doesn't look back up at Hope, doesn't have the strength to. 

"Right…" She says in a sigh.

*

"Alyssa!" Hope yells from across the gym.

The head cheerleader watches as the other girl quickly turns around and walks over to her. She is gonna enjoy this. Hope can't even hide the mean smile on her face.

As soon as Alyssa is close enough, the Mikaelson girl drops the bomb.

"You should go change. You're not practicing today."

Alyssa's eyes widen in surprise. "What?"

"Actually… You're not practicing ever again. You're out of the cheerleading team."

The raven haired girl's jaw almost hits the floor. "What?! Why?!" She almost screams.

Hope snorts. "Why? Oh, now you're playing innocent."

Alyssa's face hardens in anger. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The Mikaelson girl takes a step closer to Alyssa, and uses her full Mikaelson attitude to intimidate the other girl.

"I know you've been spreading rumors about Josie and I."

"So what?" Alyssa snaps. "Who cares? You can't kick me out of the team for that."

A grin graces Hope's lips. "I can, and I just did. You should be happy that's all I did. I could have told the coach, the principal and even my father." Hope acts as if she's thinking putting her index finger on her chin. "Actually… that's not off the table. If you don't leave Josie Saltzman alone, I'll have my father ruin every chance you have to get in a good college and ruin your social life here, understood?"

"You can't do that!" Alyssa says as she suddenly looking terrified. 

Hope takes a step back and shrugs. "You should think before spreading rumors around. You did this before, and received no consequences… Now you're gonna pay if you keep doing it. Words hurt Alyssa, and hopefully you'll learn your lesson this time."

The ex-cheerleader's mouth is still on the floor as Hope turns around and leave. The Mikaelson girl doesn't look back, fully knowing her words and actions would have the expected effect on Alyssa Chang. 

You don't mess with a Mikaelson… or the ones they care about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any thoughts??


	4. a dinner with the Mikaelsons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! 
> 
> New chapter... and Josie opens up a little.
> 
> Enjoy!

Hope Mikaelson loves the first weekend of the month, because on this weekend she gets to have her mom and her dad at the same time. Hope's parents have been divorced since she was 7 years old. They told her they loved each other very much, but they were not in love anymore. 

She didn't understand back then, but now she does. Klaus and Hayley don't look at each other with stars in their eyes.

No.

Klaus Mikaelson looks at his new girlfriend Camille with stars in his eyes. And, Hope is pretty sure Hayley Marshall always looked at her uncle Elijah with stars in her eyes.

So Hope learned to accept her family being this way. It's not typical, but it's hers. They all love each other, and in the end that's what matters. 

That's why she's sitting at a table of the Mystic Grill on a Saturday night. The auburn haired girl looks to her right, seeing Klaus smile as he looks at Camille. Her dad is introducing his new girlfriend to them tonight, and Hope already likes her. The woman is sweet, and she makes her father smile. What more could she ask for? 

Hope looks to her left after that, only to see her mom giggle like a teenager at something Elijah said. Even after almost 5 years of marriage, Hayley and Elijah are still stuck in the Honeymoon phase of their relationship, not that Hope is complaining though…

Seeing her parents happy and in love is great. She wishes she had something like that… She even knows exactly with who she'd like to have that. She'd like to have that with…

Josie Saltzman is walking into the Mystic Grill. Hope can't take her eyes away from the brunette who's been occupying her thoughts for weeks now. Josie is with her sister and a guy from the football team, Sebastian. The auburn haired girl sees the twins talk for a couple of seconds before Lizzie settles at a table with the boy, and Josie walks to another table. 

Hope silently watches as her crush sits at a table alone. She looks sad… lonely even. The Saltzman girl soon gets a book out of her bag, and starts reading, never once looking around. 

"Hope? Sweet heart, who captured your attention like that?" Hayley asks playfully.

The Mikaelson girl quickly turns back to look at her mother, her cheeks heating up. Everyone's eyes are on her, waiting for some kind of answer. 

"It's just… a friend of mine." Hope says, her eyes slowly going back to Josie.

"The pretty girl sitting alone?" Klaus asks, following Hope's eyes straight to the brunette.

"Uh, yeah." The auburn haired girl looks at her father. "Do you mind if I go say hi?"

"Of course not!" Camille says with a smile. "If she's not waiting for anyone, you could ask her to join us."

Hope stands up, sharing a smile with the blonde woman. "I will, thank you."

As the cheerleader walks away from the table, her family starts whispering.

"Do you know who that girl is?" Klaus asks Hayley.

"Absolutely no clue!" Hope's mother replies, her eyes wide in confusion.

"One thing is sure… Our little Hope has a crush." Elijah says with his knowing smile.

After that, the adults all turn their eyes back to Hope. The auburn haired girl stops walking when she's standing in front of Josie's table. The brunette doesn't look up, she didn't notice her presence. Hope stands there for an awkwardly long time, wondering what to say and if she should even be there in the first place. 

"Miss, could you please let me pass?" A waiter with his hands full asks the Mikaelson girl.

"Uh, yeah, of course." Hope moves, letting the man do his job. "Sorry!"

"Hope?"

The cheerleader quickly turns back to Josie, her cheeks taking a deep shade of red.

"Josie… hi." Hope waves with a little smile.

Why does she keep doing that?! She quickly puts her hand down, feeling totally stupid. 

Josie smiles back. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"Here as in the Mystic Grill, or here as in your table?" Hope blurts out.

The brunette giggles, her eyes closing as she does so. Hope immediately falls in love with that sound, and she wonders what she could do or say to hear it more often. 

"Both, I guess." Josie says before quickly adding something else. "You can sit with me if you want."

The Mikaelson girl briefly looks at the seat in front of Josie before actually sitting down. She then looks back at the brunette who is watching her with a little smile, a smile Hope reciprocates immediately. 

"It's family time." Hope says as she points to the table where her parents are sitting. "I saw you and… I don't know, I wanted to say hi."

Josie's eyes are now glued to the table occupied by Hope's family. The cheerleader says nothing, she just lets the brunette look. It's not long before Josie looks back at her anyway.

"Thank you for coming over. I appreciate it." She says with a smile.

The fact that Josie's smile looks forced isn't something Hope can miss. She barely has time to wonder why before the Saltzman girl talks again.

"You should go back to them. I'll see you at school on Monday."

The Mikaelson girl frowns, so confused and a little frustrated that Josie would just dismiss her like that. 

"Why do you always do that?"

Josie's eyes widen. "What do you mean?"

"Act like you want me to leave when I know you don't want me to leave." Hope quickly says, letting some frustration out. "You don't have to push me away. I want to be your-" She cuts herself, and swallows the lump in her throat. "I want to be your friend."

Josie opens and closes her mouth twice before she looks down. Hope patiently waits because she wants an answer. No, she needs an answer. She needs to figure out why Josie is such a mystery.

"I want to be your friend too." Josie finally says. 

Hope sighs. That's not what she wanted to hear, but it still feels good to know she's not working on this friendship alone. 

"Good." The auburn haired girl says softly. "Were you waiting for someone?"

Josie shakes her head. "I came here with my sister… My mom forced her to let me tag along, even though I didn't want to."

Hope nods before she stands up and motions for Josie to follow her.

"Come on, you can eat with us."

The brunette doesn't move, but her cheeks quickly start taking a cute little shade of pink and her eyes widen.

"What? No! You're having dinner with your family, I don't wanna intrude."

Hope smiles, and even lets out a light chuckle. "You're not intruding. It's okay with them, believe me."

Josie glances at the table Hope's family is occupying once more. She's biting her lip, and it attracts Hope's eyes. The Mikaelson girl can't tear her eyes away from the brunette's lips and Josie ends up noticing. Hope quickly looks away, almost apologizes even.

"Okay." The Saltzman girl says. "I'll join you. Thank you."

Hope says nothing, she just smiles and offers Josie her hand to help her stand up. Deep down she knows she doesn't need to help, but the thought of Josie's hand in hers sounds really appealing. The brunette stands up on her own though, giving Hope a strained smile. The Mikaelson girl does her best to smile back. She really has to accept the fact that her relationship with Josie is gonna evolve  _ very _ slowly. 

Together, they walk to the table Hope's family is sat at, the cheerleader slowly feeling a blush creeping up on her face as she sees everyone looking at them. 

"Uh, everyone… This is Josie." Hope says as she's standing near the table with the other girl.

The brunette seems to take a page out of Hope's book because she raises a hand and waves with an awkward smile. The Mikaelson girl watches her do it with a fond smile, maybe she didn't look that stupid when she waved…

Hope proceeds to introduce every member of her family. They sit down after that, Hope quickly adding her chair next to hers, receiving a thankful smile from Josie. When they're both sitting down, and they look at the adults around them, the girls quickly notice all eyes are on them again.

"So, how old is this friendship exactly?" Hayley asks.

Hope looks at Josie, and sees a cute little frown on the brunette's face as she's looking down. The cheerleader quickly decides to handle this one.

"Like three weeks." The auburn haired girl says with a shrug as she looks back to her mother. "Josie's family is new in town."

"Oh, really?" Klaus says with a smile. "Where are you from?"

The question seems to shake Josie, and suddenly she looks back up. Hope's not sure if she sees correctly, but there's a little bit of fear in the brunette's eyes. She's about to tell her dad to just drop it, she's learned that Josie's past isn't something the Saltzman girl likes to talk about. However, Josie decides to answer Klaus' question.

"Seattle." The brunette's says, barely above a whisper.

"Seattle?" Elijah says, surprise clear in his voice. "How did you end up in Mystic Falls?"

Josie lets out a nervous chuckle. "Uh, it's a long story…"

Just as she says that, the waiter appears and takes their orders, but Camille quickly notices the distress radiating off of Josie. She sees how the brunette seems to still be stressing over the question she was asked. 

"No need to elaborate sweetie." The blonde woman says as soon as the waiter is gone.

"Thank you." Josie says before avoiding any eye contact again.

Hope decides to try and change the subject. "Josie has a twin! How cool is that, uh?"

The brunette quickly looks at Hope. The Mikaelson girl turns to look at Josie too, and when their eyes connect a shiver runs down Hope's body. There's an intensity in those brown eyes, a fire Hope is sure Josie has a hard time controlling. Sometimes, she wonders if Josie is really as quiet as she appears to be, or if it's just a facade. For a moment, Hope thinks she messed up, that now Josie is mad at her. But then, the brunette is smiling again.

"Yeah, but we're fraternal twins." Josie says. "We look nothing alike."

Hope smiles. "Still, having a sibling sounds so cool." 

Hayley growns and buries her face in her hands. "I am not having another child Hope! Ask your dad."

"What about your parents Josie?" Klaus quickly changes the subject.

Hope rolls her eyes. Her parents and her had this conversation a million times before. By now, Hope knows she'll probably never have a sibling, but she still has to try from time to time. 

"We live with our mom." Josie replies.

The softness on the brunette's face immediately tells something to Hope : Josie Saltzman loves her mother. The soft smile and obvious love in her eyes are a good look on the usually sad girl.

"She opened a little clothes store." 

Hayley's eyes widen. "Oh! It opened like four weeks ago?" Josie nods. "I meant to check it out, now I definitely will."

"What about your father Josie?" Klaus asks.

The Saltzman girl stiffens and it almost makes Hope sighs. Another sensitive subject it would seem. Without even thinking about it, the Mikaelson girl reaches out and squeezes Josie's hand. The brunette looks at her, and Hope replies with a wink.

"I think we're overwhelming her." The cheerleader says. "Let's talk about something else."

Soon after that they get their food, and Hope is kinda relieved. She doesn't want Josie to run away because her family is asking too many questions, but the adults seem to understand they pushed the brunette a little far after that. The conversations go on smoothly as they eat, and soon enough laughter and smiles are all there is at the table. 

After they're done, Klaus takes care of the bill even though Josie tries to protest. She ends up thanking him with a shy smile though. Then, the brunette says it's time for her to go home and stands up.

Hope quickly stands too. "Uh, would you mind if I walked you home?"

Josie's eyes soften. "I'd like that actually."

They say their goodbyes to the Mikaelsons. Hayley notices how Josie's eyes seem glued to Hope as the cheerleader is giving a tight hug to her father. The woman says nothing though, only wonders. Then, Josie and Hope are walking out of the Mystic Grill, walking side by side.

Their bodies are close as they walk in the streets of Mystic Falls. It doesn't take long for Josie to wrap her hands around her arms as the chilly air of the night catches up to her. Hope sees it all happen from the corner of her eyes. She bites her lip because she knows exactly what she wants to do right now, but she's not sure she should. Then, the brunette shivers from the cold and Hope can't take it anymore. The cheerleader shrugs off her leather jacket, and gently puts it over the brunette's shoulders. 

Josie's head snaps in Hope's direction. "You didn't have to do that. Now you're the one who's gonna be cold."

Hope shrugs. "Don't worry about it. I don't really get cold."

Josie looks right into the ocean of Hope's eyes before looking back down at the pavement. After a couple of seconds, the Saltzman girl puts her arms into the sleeves of the jacket to get more warmth. Hope watches her do it, and she swallows hard when Josie gets her hair out of the jacket and puts it all on the same side, exposing her neck on Hope's side. 

The auburn haired girl's thoughts are invaded by just how beautiful Josie Saltzman is. She wishes she could just tell the other girl that, but Hope feels like Josie would probably just run away if she did that.

"Your family is nice."

Hope looks at the brunette, but Josie doesn't look back, so she's left to stare at the side of her face.

"Yeah?" She says, before quickly apologizing. "I'm sorry if the questions they asked were too much."

The Saltzman girl lifts her head to look at the sky, gathering some courage in the process. When she looks at Hope after that, the sadness is back in her eyes.

"My father is still in Seattle." Josie drops, her voice shaking. "H-he drinks a lot. My mom left him when Lizzie and I were babies. We used to see him every weekend when we lived there, but it changed when we moved. Lizzie went back to spend a weekend with him two weeks ago, I didn't."

"Do you miss him?" Hope carefully asks.

Josie sighs, and she finally meets Hope's eyes again. "Is it bad if I say no? Don't get me wrong, I love my dad. He's just never been there for me. He focus lots of his time on Lizzie and on booze. I'm the last thing on his mind and-"

The brunette abruptly stops, and then she shakes her head.

"And?" Hope softly says.

"Nothing. Forget it, please?"

The cheerleader nods. "Of course."

They stay silent after that. Hope steals glances at Josie now and then, but the brunette is never looking back, her eyes are either on the pavement or straight ahead of herself. 

It makes Hope wonder if all she'll ever get with Josie is a tentative friendship. If the brunette's guards are too high for her to break them down. If Josie even wants her to break them down. The thoughts are spiraling in her mind, and it makes her retreat in her own head, so it's kinda surprising when Josie suddenly stops walking.

"Uh, this is my house." The brunette says as she points the white house behind her.

"Oh." Hope lets out as she looks at the house.

"Thank you for walking me home, Hope, and for letting me crash your family dinner."

"I should be thanking you for joining us." The Mikaelson girl says as she takes a step closer to Josie. "And… I couldn't just let you walk home alone, right?"

Hope expects the taller girl to take a step back, it's what she usually does, but Josie doesn't move. 

"Why are you always so nice to me?"

"You've given me no reason to be anything but nice to you." Hope says, suddenly a little confused.

Josie shakes her head and looks down again. Hope watches as she plays with her fingers, a nervous habit she uses a lot. Gently, the auburn haired girl takes the brunette's hands in hers.

"Josie -"

"I should get inside." The taller girl says, cutting Hope off. "Thank you again, for everything."

Josie quickly leans in and leaves a quick kiss on Hope's cheek, before she disappears inside her house. 

Hope sighs, her eyes not leaving the door of Josie's house for a long time. 

Baby steps.


End file.
